Smartphones with the Longest Battery Life

With their zippy quad-core processors and big screens, smartphones have never been more powerful — or more power hungry. Yes, specs and apps matter, but what good are they if you’re hunting for an outlet by lunchtime? If you want a smartphone that endures, check out the handsets that made our list.

These devices lasted at least 9 hours on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves continuous Web surfing over 4G LTE. We set each phone’s display to 150 nits to normalize for brightness and make sure each handset is receiving at least 3 bars of service. See for yourself which smartphones keep going and going.

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

A $299 unlocked Android phone that blows away the competition in terms of battery life, the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 truly makes the most of its huge 3,900 mAh battery. This 6.1-inch phablet lasted a very, very long 14 hours and 43 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test. In fact, the Ascend Mate 2 can charge other gadgets (with an optional cable). The 720p screen is quite bright, and the mid-range Snapdragon 400 processor provides good performance for the price.

OnePlus One

If you haven't heard of the OnePlus One, you should put it on your smartphone shortlist. Available for just $299 unlocked, this device lasted a fantastic 13 hours and 16 minutes on our battery test. There are plenty of other reasons to scoop up the One, including the very flexible Cyanogen Mod software that runs on top of Android and generous 5.5-inch, full HD display. We also like the gritty texture on the back, so you're less likely to drop this long-distance runner.

Sony Xperia Z3

The Xperia Z3 is a fantastic choice for T-Mobile subscribers. It boasts a sharp 20.7-MP camera and a dedicated shutter button that lets you snap pictures even while submerged. We also like the bright display and loud front-facing speakers. To top it off, Sony's flagship lasted a very long 12 hours and 9 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, making it one of the longest-lasting phones available.

Samsung Galaxy S5

The Galaxy S5 improves on its predecessor in multiple ways, including a water-resistant design, fingerprint reader and even a heart rate monitor. But this powerhouse can also get you through the day. The T-Mobile version of the S5 lasted a whopping 10 hours and 57 minutes on our battery test. The AT&T (9:28) and Sprint (8:34) models also delivered great endurance. The Verizon S5 lasted 7:30, which is still above average.

HTC One M8

The HTC One M8's gorgeous metal design, powerful performance and booming speakers make it one of the best Android phones yet. Another big reason this device earned a 4.5-star rating from us? Its 2,600 mAh battery lasted 9 hours and 52 minutes on our battery test over Verizon's network. We saw an even longer 10:50 on T-Mobile and a still-excellent 9:26 on Sprint. The AT&T version lasted 8:42.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport

Made with fitness fans in mind, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport for Sprint features the same Super AMOLED display and 16-megapixel camera that we loved on the base model Galaxy S5. It's also got the same powerful Snapdragon 801 CPU. What's new is the Electric Blue or Cherry Red exteriors with reinforced edges. Samsung also opted for physical buttons instead of touchscreen ones on this model. Runners and such will appreciate the ruggedness and resistance to dust and water.

HTC One M8 for Windows

Simply stunning is the first description that comes to mind when you first behold the HTC One M8 for Windows. It's the same metal construction you'll find on the Android version of this $99 brushed-aluminum beauty. This Verizon smartphone sports a Snapdragon 801 processor and a 5-inch 1920 x 1080-pixel display. What sets it apart is the Windows 8.1 tile-based interface with Cortana as a virtual assistant.

Apple iPhone 6 Plus

The "Plus" in iPhone 6 Plus goes way beyond mere size. Apple's biggest-ever iPhone is also one of its longest lasting, touting a 2,915-mAh battery that lasted an impressive 10 hours on our battery test. It's a good thing the Plus lasts this long; with its gorgeous 5.5-inch 1080p display, zippy A8 processor and improved 8-MP camera with optical image stabilization, this is a phone you're going to want to use all day.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active (AT&T)

The Galaxy S5 Active is a long-lasting smartphone in more ways than one. The device is rated to withstand multiple drops from 4 feet, and it can be submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. It's also dust-proof and can easily survive sever temperatures. This AT&T exclusive phone can also go the distance when it comes to battery life, as the handset lasted an excellent 9 hours and 37 minutes on our Web surfing test.

Motorola Droid Turbo (Verizon)

With a 3,900 mAh pack, the Droid Turbo has one of the largest batteries every inside a smartphone. And it definitely pays off. This Android handset lasted an impressive 9 hours and 30 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. It gets better. An included Turbo Charger can get you back over 15 percent capacity in just minutes. The Droid Turbo is also one of the fastest phones yet, thanks to its Snapdragon 805 processor.

Responsible for the editorial vision for Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide, Mark Spoonauer has been Editor in Chief of LAPTOP since 2003 and has covered technology for nearly 15 years. Mark speaks at key tech industry events and makes regular media appearances on CNBC, Fox and CNN. Mark was previously reviews editor at Mobile Computing, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc.

Should all either be 3G only or 4G phones (may be the reason the xperia is marked with higher battery life than the Razr Maxx) 4G antennaes at the moment fire run as a hybrid of 4g and 3g at the same time right now causing lower battery life.

Just a note on the Xperia play, you can get those results but you need to order an extended life battery with a custom rear cover(15$ on ebay but from hong kong) bring its from the default 1500 mAh to a whooping 3600mAh, you will not get great results otherwise.. I get at best 2 hours with default battery but I get 4-6 with the extended battery.

I have the xperia play myself, and the fact that it was included on this list makes me lose trust in this post. I’m looking to replace my Play because of its slow performance and short battery life. Sure it was good at first but it quickly got buggy and laggy.

Hi
I have iphone 4s and a htc evo 3d, battery life of htc is a disappointment but iphone is good because it has a long drainage time and quick charging, i am planning to replace htc with s3
Please recomment me an android with good battery because am a net surfer.

I don’t know how this test being done our just plain gimmick. I’ve Samsung galaxy 4g as shown as above which never lasted more than 4 hrs. Even after changed the handset with same model or replaced a new battery. 4 hrs max out.

Hi guys
Ultimately i ve bought samsung galaxy s3 and got rid of htc evo 3d and the battery timings and recharging both are outstanding, there is a limitation of moving apps to sd card but its internal memory is good enough.

Does a bigger battery really mean more life? I wish the battery makers could make as big advances as do the makers of other parts, but I’m not an expert. All I know is that I want the new HTC Droid DNA and can’t get it on AT&T’s 4GLTE for working with my salon clients (taking pics of styles and filing them away). It’s all too complicated with closed doors everywhere. Navigating what’s possible is hard.

I have tried alot of different smartphones. Right now I can say without a doubt that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the most incredible smartphone I have ever seen. Until you have tried the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2, you CAN NOT say any other smartphone is better. My battery life is amazing. I surfed the internet stayed 1hour talking and after 13 hours straight, I still had at least 50% left. I can play videos and simultaneously streaming the internet including read emails while my video plays in the corner of my screen without lag. In my video library all of my videos play at the same time without slowing down my phone. My phone screen never times out as long as i am looking at it; that feature is incredible. While im using the S-pen to draw lines if my lines are not straight it will auto fix it. I can hubber over my picture library and the photos will pop up displaying a glimpse of the pictures. Before you say your smartphone is better can it do any of that?

I have owned the Samsung Galaxy note 2 for about 2 weeks now and I’ve never had a phone with a battery life like this, I honestly mess around on it all day long, I check e mails, send e mails, surf the Web, watch videos on YouTube, and I work at least 10 hours a day, when I get home I put it on wifi and use it for everything instead of my laptop. When I go to bed at night and put it on charge is always on about 40% battery life, it’s just an amazing phone

Time to update this page guys. The padfone2 is now out and has a huge battery life (excluding tablet mode which would be just plain cheating). The quad core snapdragon and 2gig ram handle big tasks with little drain and the new version also packs a killer battery. So can you please test it and update. You may find that it takes 1st place. Maybe.

To the person who said th iphone5 has a life of 7:13….. That is web surf time only. Play a movie or run a complex app and the battery dies like a bad joke on stage. On a balanced test it measures in at about 5hrs. Sorrry to burst your bubble.

I agree with elie. Cloudfone Thrill 430x and Innos D9 beats all. It has 4160mAh compared to most phones which has lower than 2000mAh of battery and only few have more than 2000mAh. You can also extend the battery life by going to the settings and switching off running apps that you don’t use. My Samsung phone only run 3 apps the Axt9IME input method, the SnsService and Google Talk. I only turn on other apps such as wi-fi, facebook, emails, etc. when it’s necessary.

When you don’t manage running apps, your phone might be running more than 10 apps especially if you’re downloading so much apps from the apps store some or even most of these apps continues running without your knowledge even if your not using them and so your phone might be running more than 20 apps simultaneously thus shortening your battery life.

Be warned. The HTC G1 T-mobile google 3G phone started killing the battery around December 2012. I’ve used this phone for 5 years, but the change was sudden and dramatic. I tried a brand new battery and then bought a used phone (exact same phone) in good condition (because I am letting my T-mobile contract run out before replacing to go no-contract). It used to last all day with plenty of usage, except for heavy web use. Now this thing barely lasts 4 hours literally on standby with all background data turned off! The good news is now I have 3 batteries (including the one from the used phone) and my old phone is now a $200 battery charger – yay. The SD card reader began failing on my old phone so I needed a replacement just to fix that anyway. I am convinced the battery problem is the result of a bad firmware or software update from google or T-mobile. Of course the t-mobile tech support was utterly USELESS in resolving any issue. I actually knew more about how to conserve battery life than the “tech”.

I don’t know how you can think that PC games have more of a market in the US than console games. There are a dozen new games released for consoles monthly compared to one for the PC. By games I’m not talking about time killers like farm ville or bejewelled I mean games that are actually worth the money you pay and have more than a couple hours play time. The PC is dying here very quickly I personally have used mine twice since I got a tablet a year and a half ago and that was only so I could upload CDs to Google.

I don’t know how your judging battery life but the gs3 from Verizon doesn’t last 8 hours on its best day. Mine barely lasts sleeping overnight let alone actually using it all day and that’s with no extra stuff enabled including s voice. Its a great phone with great features you just can’t use any of them if you want to get more than three or four hours out of it.

I have worked extensively on both HTC and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and my boss run the Galaxy S3. My Father owns the Iphone 5. There is no comparission to the Note 2 is surpasses both of them by at least 5 hours. my phone is on a continues download and i run 4 app that sit on the internet all day. the Galasy S3 does about 4 hours before needing a recharge and the iphone 5 about 5. Plus the thing you can do on a notes surpasses both iphone 5 and S3.

Sorry but from all the phone I have Played with and seen. the best battery goes to the Galaxy Note2

I love the note. I carry Iphone 4s and the Note2. Sprint coverage on the Note2 is not as good yet as At&t coverage where I live. With 12 billion from Softbank for wireless infrastructure improvements, it will be soon. If you dont have good reception, they give you a wifi mini tower that will give you 5,000 square feet of coverage if you already have high speed internet. Battery life is great. Before the Note2 I also had a Verizon Win 8x. Nice but no battery life and no commercial banking at my bank. Note2 on Sprint solves it all. I am transitioning to the note. Its more fun than the Iphones. I’ve had several versions of Iphone. At&t Iphone could not do commercial banking with Safari either.

I can keep my one x up and running for a whole day buy i usually have the screen brightness to the lowest. whihc helps alot but when i am on the rode riding with gps running i have to carry and battery pack. On gps and strava cycling app i can barely keep it alive for my rides. A buddy of mine gave me a phonesuit flex http://bit.ly/U97fpw and it has been amazing. extremlly small where i can pop in my sock while i ride and take it out when my phone is dying to get those extra miles in.

The one X will get about 4 hours of usage before battery is depleted. my girlfriend gets 8 hours of overal standby and use. i get almost 2 days with the samsung note 2. the battery in the one X is indeed very poor. but that mostly because of the tegra 3 chip. wich uses allot of power! that why the one x+ gets a much better battery life. because that one uses a different CPU

The Galaxy S3 should definitely not be on this list. This phone is a serious disappointment for anyone looking for most day battery life. The battery seems to drain for no apparent reason, particularly on standby overnight, as I leave the phone fully charge before going to bed and wake up to find it only with a charge of 32% or less. This problem does not seem to be particular to the S3 since early adopters of the S4 are also already complaining about the same issue. Furthermore, if you need to have real-time access to your e-mails, phone calls, facebook updates and other live feeds BEWARE a fully charged S3 will only last you 3-4 hrs.

Last month I got a new LENOVO S890. And this phone has a powerful battery. Or you can go for LENOVO P770.
Both phones have 2250 mAh and 3500mAh battery.
If I don’t charge my S890 then it lasts for 3 days. I use my phone for calling, Music, camera, Whatsapp, Games, FB, mails etc. This phone has a amazing long life battery.

hhmm..why no one mentioned any of the lumia(nokia) ..am wondering why nokia made that fone..infact nothing is good from those windows fone ..esp the battery..they better go back and do thier old styles

ha…. I have a china phone that can stay up to 3 days. I am not really into high end phone usage and I am only using the phone for normal use. its the Cloudfone Thrill 430x and its got 4160 mah battery. As I always say to my peers, no matter how high-end the phone is, if it will not stay up for at least a day, its worthless…

Nokia Lumia 920 has the worst battery life in the industry. In addition, it gets hot in the back of the phone near the camera area. I use the HERE Drive+ for 30 mins and the phone was freaking HOT and sucked about 1/2 of the battery life out of it. What also sad is that people sent their phones in to Nokia for repair, Nokia sent them back with the issue unresolved.

No fucking way. I don’t believe this for a second. I have owned dozens of samsung phones in my life and they consistently have the worst battery life by far. This horrible Transfix I have now, gives me 4 hours or light usage if I am lucky. And by that I mean, I charge it, and then don’t use it at all, but 4 hours later it is dead anyway. You guys are clearly Samsung shills.

Wanna real life long serving Smartphone? My N8 does 5 days…using email and web for a hour a day. Yes i know symbian is not a current smartphone os but it does 100% of what i need an smartphone to do. oh yeah it has usb on the go, 12 megapixel camera, fm rds radio,(even the s4 doesnt have one of those) HDMI port, i could go on… but i wont!

I have no idea what these s3 guys are talkin about but I take my fully charged phone off the chargrr and head to bed listen to an album with my hesdphones on while preparing to sleep and leave it on the bed all night to wake up to about 85-90 % battery life left. I also use my phone all day long and charge it once tops a day it’s great and I could never complain as I had a motorola atrix before this and had to charge it 3 times a day. The S3 has been life changin from a battery perspective so anyone that has a battery issue needs to get there phone fixed.

Agree. In the premium line lg beats them all. Iphone is not included because its not smartphone, its a dumbphone only overhyped by uidiots who could not buy android because there is no android being sold on plan one dollar haha lol. Aniway, iphone cheats because it has no multi task feature and shuts down when not in use. So cheating 100 percent but if u use it to browse only, it wont last 30 minutes in normal use. Anybody wjo disagrees with me is a fanboy or paid troll. Apple sucks. Buy samsung americans so will taste entry premium ness not apple cheapo.

I am a retailer of cellphones and cellphones accessories in southern africa. I have always admired HTC phones but the problem is their battery, it doesn’t last long it only last if you dont use it. I have always had this small phone for almost a year Samsung GTE-1050 which i carry and use always for my business calls its battery can last for a week without charging it. As much as i would want to take notes and do other staff on my smart phone, can it be that HTC try to manufacture one strong battery that will last even 5days i bet their year ending will yield good profits and they would do better especially here in Africa where we travelled so much doing business.

I have a Razr Maxx. Yesterday with normal Use I was at 34 hours on WiFi. On 4g LTE it usually close to 20hrs. So I’m confused on how they got that low of battery time. Then again the HD does use more battery for screen. I don’t think the HD is necessary IMO.

Absolute rubbish article, which shows that the author didn’t research very well. Just write an article to get paid, huh? The Huawei Mate 6.1″ quadcore phone with 4000mah can play an HD movie for about 12 straight hours. The quadcore Lenovo P780 with 4000maH battery can last 39 days standby time. There are some others with MUCH MORE juice than the top ten written here. HTC ONE? What a joke… No wonder the latest comments are posted on the last page.

I’m sorry. You should have tested the Z30. It would have won hands down. I am using my Z30 and getting about 2-2.5 days between charges. Why don’t you test one and compare? Or are you that against Blackberry that it clouds you judgement?

I’m sorry but this is totally wrong. I own a droid maxx and the battery life while running every app on my phone is over 30 hours. Without turning off the screen. I don’t know why this review is so wrong but Motorola deserves more attention than what people believe.

if I have received many photos and videos in a particular what’s up chat group, on a nexus 5 android mobile phone, is it possible to transfer all these photos and videos in a folder on my laptop (an hp pavilion dv6) to save them and then possibly load them on a memory stick to take some to a photographer’s for printing?

Comparing different size of phones with non-compareable gross volume? What can i do with a super lasting phone if it cannot fit into my pocket or cannot use with one hand? Some of these devices has also phone function, but mainly used for browsing…but if size doesn’t matter why not to use some external battery packs, or why not to name it as a tablet/phablet, or laptop with phone function? There are some exception in the comparison for sure but main title sould be: Smartphone alike devices with phone function with the Longest Battery Life for non phone usage

And what a surprise! Which one won the race??? The biggest one with the biggest volume (for the battery too). Don’t you see any correlation? A lasting density chart like minutes/cubic millimeters would be a way better to compare power consuming effectiveness.

Lenovo p780.
By far the best battery life. With light usage can last, up to 10 days!!! Anyway 2-5 time longer then the rest of the hand phones. The week point of Lenovo’s phones is software, sometime u can have problems.

Reason why I visited this page is that I would like to replace my Galaxy S5 as it would only last about 5 hours. bought a new battery in the hope that I only got a lemon battery, but alas, no improvement at all.

I’m suspicious of your testing methodologies… I have used all of the following phones for at least 2 months each: iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, Galaxy S5, Droid Turbo.

In my day-to-day usage experience I found that iPhone 6+ was at the top, with 8-10 hours screen on time (and 24 hours standby). The iPhone 6 held its own with around 6 hours on average screen on time. The Galaxy S5 and the Droid Turbo are pitiful, I never could get more than 4-5 hours screen on time with them. This is especially damning for the Turbo given how much bigger its battery is than the S5! The saving grace of the S5 is that if you really need battery to go all weekend, you could get a ZeroLemon battery pack. I am currently using the 6+ as my daily driver and am continually impressed by amazing battery life that is far superior to the Galaxy S5 or the Turbo, despite your claims.